Book Review: Samuels bok by Sven Delblanc

attitudes and loyalties which sustained the traditional order" (p. 241). What is
most interesting, however, is Nelson's observation that the sect's general
obstreperousness, far from forcing liberalization of the laws governing religion (a
matter that had occupied the Riksdag for some time), actually hindered the
movement toward religious liberty by strengthening the conservative hand. (This
subject is also discussed by Henrik Gladh in his L a r s V i l h e l m H e n s c h e n o c h
religionsfrihetsfrågan till 1 8 5 3 . ) He presents evidence that the movement to
annul the Conventicle Edict of 1726 in conformity with the Constitution of 1809
had been making slow headway, and that until the Janssonists arrived, almost no
use had been made of its punitive potential.
"Thou shalt not commit sociology," W. H . Auden is reported to have said, and
that suggests what, for most people, is the major flaw in this book. Its language is
charged with the detritus of sociological jargon. For instance, what i s "Janssonist
intersubjectivity" or, a favorite word, "anomie"? (In the O E D I found "anomy,"
which sort-of fits.)
As a dissertation, this study must, of course, bow to the theoretical literature of
this area of sociology, but the incessant reference to that literature is simply
tedious and at times unnecessary. Nelson shows considerable originality in his
thinking about Janssonism, but he spends far too much time assuring the reader
that this is all i n keeping with the previous work of Max Weber, Alfred Schutz,
Karl Mannheim, and others. For instance, at the beginning of Chapter F i v e , "The
Dialectical Drama of Janssonist Development," he explicates an extensive,
abstract typology of "modes of consciousness" which seems quite unrelated to
what follows. Further, i f the argument is that there was a dialectic between sect
and society which shaped the sect, does this not also imply that there was a
d i a l e c t i c w i t h i n the b e l i e f system? Nelson suggests that Janssonism was
complete by 1842, and while the evidence with which to work is thin, it seems
reasonable to suppose that there was also theological development as w e l l . (One
must admit, however, that we are talking about a relatively short length of time
between Jansson's first arrival i n Hälsingland and his emigration, about three
years, and this may not have been enough time for the members to create a
method of dealing with dissent.)
Despite its rather ponderous language, this is a book that deserves wider
circulation than most dissertations. Readers interested in Nelson's work on the
"class composition" of the Janssonists might want to read his article in the pages
of this Q U A R T E R L Y , volume 26 (January, 1975), pp. 3-15. As a final note, my copy
has several hand corrections in it, of which the only crucial one is on page 181:
the original of line eight reads "the adult population" and should read "the adult
Janssonist population."
A L A N SWANSON
A u g u s t a n a C o l l e ge
Sven Delblanc. S A M U E L S B O K . Stockholm: Bonniers, 1981. Pp. 383.
Swedish reviewers of Delblanc's new novel apparently are having a hard time
limiting their reviews to a few hundred words. It is a remarkably rich book which
deals with numerous aspects of the Sweden of the first quarter of this century. It
is a highly readable book which is hard to put aside until one has read the
one-page "Efterskrift" or epilogue.
145
For anyone who has an interest in Swedish-American history, the novel has a
special appeal. It deals specifically with one Swedish-American who after having
graduated from Augustana T h e o l o g i c a l Seminary and having served
Swedish-American Lutheran congregations returned to Sweden with the
expectation that he could serve as a pastor in the Church of Sweden. The trials
and tribulations of the highly gifted Pastor Samuel Eriksson, his Norwegian wife,
and their children are, the author insists, essentially what happened to his
maternal grandparents, his mother, and her brothers and sisters.
When and i f major studies of what happened to Swedish emigrants who
returned to Sweden after years of training and/or practical experience in America
are undertaken, Delblanc's book should not be disregarded. Note, by way of hint,
this passage:
But Lindfors [a Swedish pastor trained in Sweden] has of course little patience with and great mistrust of
such learning as possibly may be acquired at the Augustana Synod's theological college in Rock Island,
Illinois. The American sister church is in general looked down upon here in Sweden, (pp. 13-14)
Delblanc's criticism is not limited to the attitudes and practices of the Church of
Sweden but examines a class-ridden "Oscarian" society with its far from amusing
distinctions between "bättre f o l k " (people of quality) and "sämre f o l k " (the
lower classes) on all levels! What he has to say surely w i l l help explain the
evolution of the Swedish images of both America and Swedish-Americans.
For most readers S a m u e l s b o k w i l l probably be a fascinating narrative about
thoroughly human people. For many it w i l l be decidedly interesting because of
Delblanc's use of a variety of literary techniques. Every reader w i l l surely be
looking forward to the appearance of the sequel promised in the "Efterskrift."
W A L T E R JOHNSON
U n i v e r s i t y o f W a s h i n g t o n
L i l l y Setterdahl, compiler, S W E D I S H - A M E R I C A N N E W S P A P E R S : A G U I DE
T O T H E M I C R O F I L M S H E L D BY T H E S W E N S O N S W E D I SH
I M M I G R A T I O N R E S E A R C H C E N T E R , A U G U S T A N A C O L L E G E , R O CK
I S L A N D , I L L I N O I S . Augustana Library Publications, 35. Rock Island, III.:
Augustana College Library, 1981. Pp. 36. $3.00.
No one is ever likely to know just how many periodicals of all types have been
published by and for the Swedes in North America. Already i n 1910, Alfred
Söderström listed 1,158 Swedish-American newspapers and other periodicals in
his B l i x t a r på t i d n i n g s - h o r i s o n t e n , although his method of reckoning produced a
somewhat inflated total. In 1956, O. F r i t i o f Ander listed in his C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e
o f t h e S w e d i s h I m m i g r a n t 833 Swedish-American newspapers, periodicals, and
annuals which had actually been preserved up to that time. O f these, about 300
could properly be considered "political or semi-religious newspapers published
weekly or more frequently," according to L i l l y Setterdahl in her introduction.
Many lasted for no more than a few issues, or at best a few years. Some,
strengthened by various mergers, proved remarkably long-lived. Some half
dozen survive today.
None of the preserved backfiles of Swedish-American newspapers are
probably altogether complete and page-perfect and many are only fragmentary.
Still, Swedish-American scholarship is fortunate indeed that so much has been
146

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attitudes and loyalties which sustained the traditional order" (p. 241). What is
most interesting, however, is Nelson's observation that the sect's general
obstreperousness, far from forcing liberalization of the laws governing religion (a
matter that had occupied the Riksdag for some time), actually hindered the
movement toward religious liberty by strengthening the conservative hand. (This
subject is also discussed by Henrik Gladh in his L a r s V i l h e l m H e n s c h e n o c h
religionsfrihetsfrågan till 1 8 5 3 . ) He presents evidence that the movement to
annul the Conventicle Edict of 1726 in conformity with the Constitution of 1809
had been making slow headway, and that until the Janssonists arrived, almost no
use had been made of its punitive potential.
"Thou shalt not commit sociology," W. H . Auden is reported to have said, and
that suggests what, for most people, is the major flaw in this book. Its language is
charged with the detritus of sociological jargon. For instance, what i s "Janssonist
intersubjectivity" or, a favorite word, "anomie"? (In the O E D I found "anomy,"
which sort-of fits.)
As a dissertation, this study must, of course, bow to the theoretical literature of
this area of sociology, but the incessant reference to that literature is simply
tedious and at times unnecessary. Nelson shows considerable originality in his
thinking about Janssonism, but he spends far too much time assuring the reader
that this is all i n keeping with the previous work of Max Weber, Alfred Schutz,
Karl Mannheim, and others. For instance, at the beginning of Chapter F i v e , "The
Dialectical Drama of Janssonist Development," he explicates an extensive,
abstract typology of "modes of consciousness" which seems quite unrelated to
what follows. Further, i f the argument is that there was a dialectic between sect
and society which shaped the sect, does this not also imply that there was a
d i a l e c t i c w i t h i n the b e l i e f system? Nelson suggests that Janssonism was
complete by 1842, and while the evidence with which to work is thin, it seems
reasonable to suppose that there was also theological development as w e l l . (One
must admit, however, that we are talking about a relatively short length of time
between Jansson's first arrival i n Hälsingland and his emigration, about three
years, and this may not have been enough time for the members to create a
method of dealing with dissent.)
Despite its rather ponderous language, this is a book that deserves wider
circulation than most dissertations. Readers interested in Nelson's work on the
"class composition" of the Janssonists might want to read his article in the pages
of this Q U A R T E R L Y , volume 26 (January, 1975), pp. 3-15. As a final note, my copy
has several hand corrections in it, of which the only crucial one is on page 181:
the original of line eight reads "the adult population" and should read "the adult
Janssonist population."
A L A N SWANSON
A u g u s t a n a C o l l e ge
Sven Delblanc. S A M U E L S B O K . Stockholm: Bonniers, 1981. Pp. 383.
Swedish reviewers of Delblanc's new novel apparently are having a hard time
limiting their reviews to a few hundred words. It is a remarkably rich book which
deals with numerous aspects of the Sweden of the first quarter of this century. It
is a highly readable book which is hard to put aside until one has read the
one-page "Efterskrift" or epilogue.
145
For anyone who has an interest in Swedish-American history, the novel has a
special appeal. It deals specifically with one Swedish-American who after having
graduated from Augustana T h e o l o g i c a l Seminary and having served
Swedish-American Lutheran congregations returned to Sweden with the
expectation that he could serve as a pastor in the Church of Sweden. The trials
and tribulations of the highly gifted Pastor Samuel Eriksson, his Norwegian wife,
and their children are, the author insists, essentially what happened to his
maternal grandparents, his mother, and her brothers and sisters.
When and i f major studies of what happened to Swedish emigrants who
returned to Sweden after years of training and/or practical experience in America
are undertaken, Delblanc's book should not be disregarded. Note, by way of hint,
this passage:
But Lindfors [a Swedish pastor trained in Sweden] has of course little patience with and great mistrust of
such learning as possibly may be acquired at the Augustana Synod's theological college in Rock Island,
Illinois. The American sister church is in general looked down upon here in Sweden, (pp. 13-14)
Delblanc's criticism is not limited to the attitudes and practices of the Church of
Sweden but examines a class-ridden "Oscarian" society with its far from amusing
distinctions between "bättre f o l k " (people of quality) and "sämre f o l k " (the
lower classes) on all levels! What he has to say surely w i l l help explain the
evolution of the Swedish images of both America and Swedish-Americans.
For most readers S a m u e l s b o k w i l l probably be a fascinating narrative about
thoroughly human people. For many it w i l l be decidedly interesting because of
Delblanc's use of a variety of literary techniques. Every reader w i l l surely be
looking forward to the appearance of the sequel promised in the "Efterskrift."
W A L T E R JOHNSON
U n i v e r s i t y o f W a s h i n g t o n
L i l l y Setterdahl, compiler, S W E D I S H - A M E R I C A N N E W S P A P E R S : A G U I DE
T O T H E M I C R O F I L M S H E L D BY T H E S W E N S O N S W E D I SH
I M M I G R A T I O N R E S E A R C H C E N T E R , A U G U S T A N A C O L L E G E , R O CK
I S L A N D , I L L I N O I S . Augustana Library Publications, 35. Rock Island, III.:
Augustana College Library, 1981. Pp. 36. $3.00.
No one is ever likely to know just how many periodicals of all types have been
published by and for the Swedes in North America. Already i n 1910, Alfred
Söderström listed 1,158 Swedish-American newspapers and other periodicals in
his B l i x t a r på t i d n i n g s - h o r i s o n t e n , although his method of reckoning produced a
somewhat inflated total. In 1956, O. F r i t i o f Ander listed in his C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e
o f t h e S w e d i s h I m m i g r a n t 833 Swedish-American newspapers, periodicals, and
annuals which had actually been preserved up to that time. O f these, about 300
could properly be considered "political or semi-religious newspapers published
weekly or more frequently," according to L i l l y Setterdahl in her introduction.
Many lasted for no more than a few issues, or at best a few years. Some,
strengthened by various mergers, proved remarkably long-lived. Some half
dozen survive today.
None of the preserved backfiles of Swedish-American newspapers are
probably altogether complete and page-perfect and many are only fragmentary.
Still, Swedish-American scholarship is fortunate indeed that so much has been
146